Baxter's direct and indirect economic impacts on its stakeholders are an important aspect of the company's sustainability performance. Direct impacts can be described by financial transactions, such as revenue received from customers, wages and benefits provided to employees or tax payments made to governments. Some but not all of these appear in a company's financial statements. Indirect impacts, which are more difficult to quantify, include increased productivity and money saved by customers through their use of Baxter's products, and job creation outside of Baxter due to the company's spending.
Baxter's Financial Performance
Baxter's broader economic impacts depend on its ongoing strong financial performance. The company achieved record sales and earnings in 2008. Worldwide sales increased 10 percent to $12.3 billion. Sales within the United States totaled $5.0 billion, an increase of 5 percent over the prior year, and international sales equaled $7.3 billion, rising 13 percent as compared to 2007. Net income totaled $2.0 billion, an increase of 18 percent over the prior year. Baxter’s strengthening financial position enabled it to increase research and development spending by 14 percent during the year, reaching $868 million, a record level for the company. Over the last three years, total shareholder return was 48 percent.
For a detailed description of the company's financial performance, see Baxter’s 2008 Annual Report.
